Coupling for vacuum-cups



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

i MORRIS MATTSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Spe'ciiicationforming part of Letters Patent No. 69,570, dated October8, 1.".567.v

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MonalsMA'rTsoN, of the city of New York, in thecounty ot' New York and State of New York, have invented a new andImproved Adjustable or DetachableCouplingforVacuum-Cups,Breast-Pumps,and similar Articles; and I dohereby delare ythatthe following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, and ot' its Inode or manner of operation', reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, and making a part of this specification.

VIn the instruments heretofore used for dry or wet cupping,breast-pumps, 81e., the connection between the cups or glasses in whichthe exhaustion is produced and the exhausting mechanism, which mayconsist of a suitable piston-syringe or some equivalent contrivance, isusually bya metallic collar or ring made in two parts', which generallyscrew one over the other, and which are also severally fastened to thecup or other part of such instrument by means of some cement-such asmelted wax, or by pIaSter-of-paris moistened with water and afterwarddried. Such modes of connection have many objections, among which arethe trouble and expense attending their application, the frequent oroccasional fracture of the glass from heating it when the wax is meltedand applied, and the use of a screw by which the different parts of themetallic coupling are attached to each other. yIn such kind ofconnection it is also necessary to have a vent-hole situated in the cupor glass below the exhauster, which has to be covered and controlled bythe linger, and is a A source of considerable trouble, as 'such vholemust be tightly closed before the air can be exhausted, and the lingercannot be removed so long as it is necessary to continue the exhaustion.To remedy these and other defectsI haveinvent- .ed what may be called anadjustable7 or detachable7 connection or coupling, by which the use ofcement or similar attaching medium is dispensed with, the uniting of theseveral parts by male and female screws is rendered unnecessary, and avent-'hole is not required.

Figure 1 represents a breastpump, the receiving-vessel and theexhausting mechanism connected by my improved coupling.V l ig. 2

repre's'cntsthe same pump, nthe several parts slightly separated fromeach othermFigs. 3 and 't represent vacuum-cups of different sizes withsuch improved coupling.

Snell improved coupling is made of vulcan- -ized elastic india-rubber orsimilar material,

and consists of a sort of hollow cap or cover, A, which can be instantlyand properly applied by even the most unskillful person to the neck B ofany cup, vessel, or breast-pump, C, to which it's adapted. Such cup orcap may be of any convenient size, but as at present used by me itscavity al is about three-eighths of an inch in diameter with a depth ofabout halt` an inch. rlhe perforated neck B which takes such cap is alittle larger in diameter than the cavity a in the elastic cap, so as tocause such cap, when placed over the neck, to hugclosely the neck, andthereby produce a tightjoint. Through the top of such cap A is aperforation, b, about an eighth of an inch in diameter, for taking therigid sli ghtly-taper ing tube or plug D, which is a part oftheexhausting-bulb E, or a part of that portion of the instrument which isto be connected to the cup or vessel C through the cap A. The cap Abeing placed over the neck B, the plug or tube D is inserted into thehole b far enough to secure an air-tight joint, and the connectionbetween the cup C and exhausting-bulb E is at once effected and iscomplete. Such connection can-be made much more quickly than by thescrew before mentioned and is greatly preferable.

Another advantage of such method of connection is that it obviates thenecessity for a vent-hole requiring to be controlled by the finger,'asabove described, as it is only necessary,\vhen the exhaustion hascontinued long enough, to withdraw the plug D from the orice b, when theair is at once admitted into the cup or vessel C, permitting it to berel moved easily and without pain. This is a great convenience and addsmuch to the value ofthe invention.

It will be at once apparent that the cap or connect-ion A can' be easilyand quickly ata tached to or detached from any cup or vessel C, and thatthe same cap or connection can be applied to cups or vessels ofdilferent sizes; that such cap will vtit tightly and closely about theneck of an), such vessel without the use of cement or its equivalent;that the connection between the vessel to be exhausted and theexhausting apparatus is effected without the use ot' screws to secureone part to thc other, and that thc use ot' a vent-hole connecting withthe exhans'ed vessel is rendered wholly unnecessary.

The. exhausting-bulb E may be any syringebulb in Ordinar) use; but Iprefer the bulb like that patented to i-ne November 19, 1861, andreissued October 1S, 1864, and fitted with loose floating valves, suchas were also patented tonic April 4, 1854. Such plan of connection bynnans ot' the elastic cap or tube A may also be applied to syringes andto other may be used forconnecting parts through which gas or tiuid isto be passed instead of air.

What I claim as lmy inventioxnand desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The use and application of the elastic collar and cap A for couplingor connecting the different parts of vacuumcups, breastpumps, and otherinstruments, substantially as described.

2. The arrangement of the rigid plug D, or its equivalent, incombination with such elastic and adjustable coupling, substantially asset forth.

M. MATTSON.

Witnesses:

S. D. LAU, FRED. B. SEARS.

